Why ELIMINATING Distractions is essencial for Learning a new Skill

A few years ago, I would read the title of this post and I would think: “haha... if I study less, I will get a worse grade. And why eliminating distractions?”.

I didn’t believe I could actually get good grades if I studied only a few hours, unless I was a genius. I did believe, I could get good grades if I studied a lot and went through a lot boredom! Is learning even a skill you can improve? I did not believe on those things.

For me, studying and learning, was a matter of hours. The more hours I studied, the better grade I could get. In general, this can be true. What I didn’t know was that I could study less hours, and still get the same grade. It was always a matter of hours to me. If I studied Biology for “x” hours, I could probably get a “Y” (grade).

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Thankfully, after reading dozens of personal development books, I understood that studying is a skill that can be improved, just like any other. (No, you don't need to read dozens of books to came to that conclusion...)

I tested, tried, failed and experimented with different habits and study techniques. I changed the way I studied and saw the whole learning experience as something you can become better at.

I can guarantee you that learning is a skill! A very important skill, that must be improved. Learning is not only important when you’re in school or college. It’s a lifetime skill. You need to learn and study relationships, business, productivity, your company strategies, etc. And if you’re learning while doing other tasks, you will not be a good learner.

Usually, my studying sessions were something like this:

I would sit on the sofa;

The tv was on;

My brother was playing Ipad with the sound on;

I would open the book and I would start reading it;

I would turn the pages while I checked the tv quickly;

Oh, a Facebook notification!

Most of my energy was wasted switching from one activity to another… they call it context-switching. The more you switch from one activity to another, the more tired and fatigued you feel.

Instead of taking me 1 hour to read the whole Biology chapter, it would take me 2 hours, or even more (it depended on the amount of notifications I received during my study session, how popular!)

The thing that helped me the most to reduce the amount of time I needed to study was: ELIMINATING DISTRACTIONS!

Here's how I actually try to learn something new NOW:

I never check Facebook while I’m studying;

I study on my room, alone;

No TV;

I put my headphones on, while listening to study and focus music (not always);